Volunteer Resource Sitehttp://hhhcvolunteers.org
Mission Statement Home Health & Hospice Care provides trusted patient centered services that enhance each individual's independence and quality throughout life. View our Core Beliefs.enBedford woman continues the legacy of her father, a WWII veteranhttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1766
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/image003.jpg" align="right" width="240" height="200" /><br />
Determined to continue her father’s legacy, a local woman has dedicated her life to helping veterans in their final hours. </p>
<p>Click <a href="http://unionleader.com/Bedford-woman-continues-the-legacy-of-her-father-a-WWII-veteran&amp;?utm_source=Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Your+morning+headlines%3A+Victim%3A+Keep+sex+offender+on+list&amp;utm_campaign=MAN+Daily+Headlines+2015-11-12+07%3A40%3A08#038;source=RSS"> Here </a> To read the article in the Union Leader</p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 22 Nov 2015 23:00:40 +0000sandy.nash1766 at http://hhhcvolunteers.orghttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1766#commentsIn Honor of Our Veteranshttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1765
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img style="border:9px solid white" src="/sites/default/files/veteranflag.jpg" align="right" width="200" height="200" /><br />
Our "We Honor Veterans" program has evolved so much in the past year. To date we’ve done somewhere in the vicinity of 40 pinning/recognition ceremonies. For Veteran’s Day, we made personal deliveries to our veteran hospice and palliative care patients acknowledging their service with a customized cards &amp; patriotically decorated cupcakes (thank you cupcake bakers and drivers!). </p>
<p>And we collaborated with two local facilities, the Hunt Community and the Huntington, to offer ceremonies recognizing over 70 veterans.</p>
<p>Thank you all to those who participated today in reaching out and honoring these veterans in our community!</p>
<p>The following is an article from The Nashua Telegraph:</p>
<p><strong>Merrimack hospice effort honors, awards veterans</strong></p>
<p>By DON HIMSEL<br />
Staff Writer</p>
<p>NASHUA - Scott Monroe isn't big on recognition.</p>
<p>"Me? I'm not a big ceremony guy," he said recently, sitting in his comfortable room at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack. Monroe, known to his friends and family by the nickname "Tops" because of his rank of First Sargent in the U.S. Army National Guard, is as gaunt as he is quiet and humble. But his handshake is rock hard. "I know for a lot of people it means a lot."</p>
<p>Monroe, 63 and originally from Nashua, is a 40-plus-year veteran. He entered the military when he was 19. A recent ceremony that gathered together dozens of friends and family - some of whom have not seen him in years - isn't something he'll talk about freely.</p>
<p>"Scott is incredibly humble," said his wife Deborah Rioux of Nashua. "I think the ceremony made him realize his time in the military did have an impact on the people around him. There were at least 50 people there. All had served in some capacity. Every person there said essentially that he was a mentor to them or had steered them in the right direction in life."</p>
<p>The ceremony, held in the building's central common room, was part of a process of continuing care provided by Home Health and Hospice and the Veterans Administration, lovingly organized and presented by a team of volunteers.</p>
<p>Home Health and Hospice is on a mission.</p>
<p>The Merrimack-based specialists in end-of-life care have implemented a program to make sure veterans are receiving all the benefits due them and that their sacrifices receive a dignified and heart-felt thank you before they pass away.</p>
<p>The "We Honor Veterans" program is a national effort conducted by the National Hospital and Palliative Care Organization in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Sandy Duggan, chairman of the effort centered in Merrimack.</p>
<p>Local efforts include helping veterans connect with valuable VA services - health care, counseling, medication assistance - providing companionship, or even something as simple as help assembling photo albums.</p>
<p>"We'll do anything we can in terms of what we can offer. The quicker we can find out what the needs are, we can respond," Duggan said.</p>
<p>Since implementing the program, Duggan said, "Now we know who the veterans are. We didn't know who the veterans were before. The sooner we can identify them and share with the interdisciplinary team, everybody can get together and create a full-bodied plan that meets these unique needs. That's huge."</p>
<p>There are 1,500 hospices providing end-of-life care in the country and "every hospice implements it in the best way they can," said Duggan.</p>
<p>"What they realized is we had opportunity to say thank-you to them. We have an imperative to recognize the very unique needs they have for care because of psychological, physical (and) spiritual impacts from their service."</p>
<p>Perhaps the most visible and moving portion of the work is the pinning ceremony for hospice care veterans.</p>
<p>The format is somewhat flexible. As much information as possible about the veterans' service is gathered from the family and a meeting is arranged for wherever the veteran may be receiving care.</p>
<p>The event features patriotic music, a reading of what is known of the vet's service, an opportunity for family photos and ultimately the presentation of a certificate honoring the soldier and a pinning by a volunteer presenter, who presides over the event.</p>
<p>A special quarter-sized commemorative pin is affixed to a recipient's lapel or hat. At the conclusion, the presenter makes a solemn salute. The ceremonies can be as short as 15 minutes or as long as necessary, based on the veteran's abilities and condition.</p>
<p>The research portion with the family, said Duggan, can be challenging.</p>
<p>"Almost without fail, we don't get anything," she said. This is evident by a tale told by volunteer Kay Porter, who recalled the aftermath of one particular event.</p>
<p>The man being honored told her, "For 20 years I never told anybody I was a veteran," because of the things that happened after he got back from Vietnam, she recalled. "He did not speak up at the ceremony, but he talked about it after."</p>
<p>Bill Sturgeon of Nashua, one volunteer presenter out of a group of several dozen, relies on his own military service to make a connection to fellow soldiers nearing the end of their lives.</p>
<p>Sturgeon, now retired, was in the Army in the mid 1950s. His anti-aircraft missile battery helped protect San Fransisco from threats coming in over the Pacific Ocean. He was in his early 20s.</p>
<p>"Some of the things I talk about to the veteran I have never said to my family, to my kids," he said.</p>
<p>Sturgeon, articulate and spirited about his involvement with hospice, said, "I was raised as a kid with a loving family. I had probably the best upbringing you could ask for."</p>
<p>He relies on this, as well as the one thing in particular about his military life that helps him form the connection with his fellow veterans.</p>
<p>"Basic training is something we all had to go through," he said. "Every one of us. Here I am for six weeks learning to kill. These are things that the person I'm talking to and myself can talk to each other about and relate to. I think we make a connection. At least I strive for that."</p>
<p>When Sturgeon meets a fellow veteran at a ceremony, "It's never formal. It's always 'Hi, I'm Bill,' " he said.</p>
<p>Sometimes honorees are bedridden. Sometimes they're sitting up. It makes no difference. Sturgeon leans in as close as<br />
he can and the<br />
conversation begins.</p>
<p>Duggan said there are about 25 veteran volunteers from veterans groups in Hudson, Hollis and Bedford, plus another unaffiliated dozen or so people who help. Many others come and provide veterans with companionship.</p>
<p>"Every single ceremony is unique and beautiful and emotional," said volunteer Kay Porter.</p>
<p>"It isn't just about recognition," Duggan added, "It's a collaborative with the VA and National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. They came up with this because they wanted to make sure benefits were being utilized."</p>
<p>U.S. Census data indicates there were almost 113,000 veterans living in New Hampshire in 2013, the largest number<br />
having served during the Vietnam era.</p>
<p>We Honor Veterans states that out of 2.4 million deaths in the country each year, about 680,000 of them are veterans.</p>
<p>"We're are all part of trying to help them find greater peace at the end of their life," Duggan said.</p>
<p>But undoubtedly the signature component of the multi-faceted care approach is the pinning ceremony.</p>
<p>"You signed a blank check for your life and we will always appreciate you eternally for protecting our freedom," said Duggan, whose late father was a paratrooper during World War II and saw action in many of the European Theatre's big battles.</p>
<p>"I feel like when someone is passing, I would like to be there for them if nobody else is, especially for veterans. This is the most intimate moment of anyone's life, trying to facilitate that is so meaningful and so important," she said.</p>
<p>The recent ceremony for Tops in Merrimack, "Wasn't just for him, it was for everybody in his life that he'd come in contact with," Deborah Rioux said of her husband. "The idea we can all come together and let Scott know that what he's done with his life has had meaning and purpose. It has kind rippled out, sort of like when you throw a rock into the water and it creates those ripples."</p>
<p>Rioux's father, Sylvio - a Korean War veteran - pinned Monroe himself.</p>
<p>"It's very powerful to see that. Again, it's powerful to have all these people come together here," Deborah Rioux said.</p>
<p>The veterans, Rioux said, are at a point in life where they evaluate what they did with their life.</p>
<p>"We talked over summer. Having the ceremony gave him understanding that he didn't have before - that he mattered, 'I did something good,' " she said. "For a humble man like that, it had a big impact. It's internal. I could see it in his face."</p>
<p>For Sturgeon, who said he keeps his retirement calendar full, it's simple: "This is number one with me. These people are my buddies. I don't know them. Never met them before in my life, but they're military. They're our people. You've heard it before. You never leave them behind. You don't walk away and leave them."</p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 22 Nov 2015 22:06:53 +0000sandy.nash1765 at http://hhhcvolunteers.orghttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1765#commentsExpecting Dandelions & Discovering Daisies: Happiness in Hospice Volunteeringhttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1764
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img style="border:5px solid white" src="/sites/default/files/tulips_and_trees.jpg" align="right" width="200" height="200" />Joy, Inspiration and Awe—these are a trio of powerful, positive emotion words.</p>
<p>These three words describe some of the happiness that I often feel during my volunteer experiences at hospice.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/10/expecting-dandelions-discovering-daisies-happiness-in-hospice-volunteering">Click here</a> to read the article by Mary York at The Elephant Journal </p>
<!--break--></div></div></div>Sun, 22 Nov 2015 20:42:49 +0000sandy.nash1764 at http://hhhcvolunteers.orghttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1764#commentsHow to NOT Say the Wrong Thing - The Ring Theoryhttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1763
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/the_ring.png" align="right" width="200" height="200" /><br />
When Susan had breast cancer, we heard a lot of lame remarks, but our favorite came from one of Susan's colleagues. She wanted, she needed, to visit Susan after the surgery, but Susan didn't feel like having visitors, and she said so. Her colleague's response? "This isn't just about you."<br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0407-silk-ring-theory-20130407-story.html"><br />
Click here </a> to read the entire article By: Susan Silk and Barry Goldman at The LA Times</p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 22 Nov 2015 20:24:36 +0000sandy.nash1763 at http://hhhcvolunteers.orghttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1763#commentsPBS Frontline - Being Mortal with Atul Gawandehttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1744
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/atul2_0.jpg " align="right" width="165" height="200" /><br />
There has been a lot of talk recently about the PBS Frontline program Being Mortal with physician Atul Gawande. Volunteer Herb Archer shared his thoughts about viewing the film:</p>
<p>“A deeply-moving and profound film. The author, a surgeon at Brigham &amp; Women's Hospital in Boston, shows the professional and personal struggles of medical staff and client families through an intimate look at five dying patients, including the author's father, himself a medical doctor.</p>
<p>Front and center is the exquisite and excruciating dilemma of holding out hope on the one hand, but also being prepared to craft those final moments into a time of making meaning. </p>
<p>Some notable quotes, paraphrased below</p>
<ul><li>"Medical school left us unprepared for this... The medicine is the easy part..."</li>
<li> "My oncologist is an optimist." "(Medicine gives us) sacrifice for now in the hope for possible time later.... "Can't always count on a doc to lead the way..."</li>
<li>"It matters a lot to people how their stories come to a close..." "These last four weeks have been the best in my life."</li>
<li>"Dying is only acceptable because we as humans live for something bigger than ourselves."</li>
</ul><p>Not only did this connect with me personally, but as a volunteer I valued hearing these five stories -- probably not unlike the stories of the people we will soon encounter. The various patterns of their struggles are likely universal.”</p>
<p>You may also view the program online anytime. Click<a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2365422384"> Here </a></p>
<!--break--></div></div></div>Mon, 23 Mar 2015 21:12:38 +0000sandy.nash1744 at http://hhhcvolunteers.orghttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1744#commentsHow to Help a Grieving Friend - 11 Things to Do When You're Not Sure What to Do.http://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1739
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img style="border:5px solid white" src="/sites/default/files/grief-counseling-in-atlanta1.jpg" align="right" /><br />
"I've been a therapist for more than 10 years. I worked in social services for the decade before that. I knew grief. When my partner drowned on a sunny day in 2009, I learned there was a lot more to grief than I'd known." Click<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-devine/death-and-dying_b_4329830.html&lt;br /&gt;&#10;megan-devine/death-and-dying_b_4329830.html"> Here </a>to read the article by Megan Devine at the Huffing Post</p>
<!--break--></div></div></div>Thu, 22 Jan 2015 19:53:38 +0000sandy.nash1739 at http://hhhcvolunteers.orghttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/node/1739#commentsHHHC Volunteer Experiences Captured on Filmhttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/hhhc-film
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/doran.dibble.film_.snippit.PNG" align="right" width="220" /> One thing we have here at HHHC is an <em>immense</em> wealth of amazing volunteers with stories and experiences to share. So, when local videographer Susan White approached the agency with the offer to volunteer her time to create a hospice film, we jumped at the opportunity! Out of that collaboration was born the video <strong>HHHC: The Volunteer Experience</strong>, which is an hour-long feature of our volunteers sharing what they do, why they do it, and what they receive from their hospice experiences. The film will be shown at our Merrimack office on Wednesday, Dec 12th from 5-6 pm, or you may <a href="http://72.71.246.74/cablecast/public/Show.aspx?ChannelID=1&amp;ShowID=5094">view it online.</a> Please visit our <a href="/node/1571">film forum</a> to share your comments!</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:05:29 +0000tanya1570 at http://hhhcvolunteers.orghttp://hhhcvolunteers.org/hhhc-film#comments